Alice In Chains, Auckland NZ, 2019

Alice In Chains

7th March 2019
Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Bridget Herlihy.

It could be argued that Kiwi Alice In Chains fans are a patient lot. Given that the band was formed by Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell in Seattle in 1987, it has taken almost 32 years for the band to finally make their way down to the Antipodes. Fortunately, that patience was rewarded last night as Alice In Chains rolled into town for their first New Zealand show. This reviewer, along with hundreds of the punters who arrived en masse to the Trusts Stadium in Henderson last night, had been waiting decades for this milestone event. So, after all this time, it is inevitable that one particular question arises: Was it actually worth the wait? In a nutshell (no pun intended), damn right it was.

It is fair to say that Alice In Chains have been through more than their fair share of ups and downs over the last three decades. The band was on an unofficial hiatus when vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002, which left the band reconsidering what their future might look like. In 2006, new vocalist William DuVall was recruited, and suffice to say they have continued to go from strength to strength since.

Alice In Chain’s debut show in New Zealand was in support of the band’s sixth full-length album, Rainier Fog, which was released late last year. The album was a homecoming of sorts as it was the first album the band recorded in Seattle since their self-titled third album. An homage-of-sorts, Rainier Fog has received widespread critical acclaim, including a nomination for Best Rock Album at this year’s Grammy awards. And with damn good reason.

A moderate amount of precipitation (not quite the ‘Rainier Fog’ the album suggests, but close) in West Auckland didn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands that made their way into the arena, although there seemed to be a widespread sense of anticipation filling the air. The support slot for tonight was Jakob – a formidable choice to commence an evening of pure unadulterated rock. The three-piece post-rock band, hailing from Napier, filled the arena with a heavy yet melodic soundscape that perfectly set the tone for the evening’s proceedings.  Jakob’s paradoxically somber yet uplifting soundscapes kept the growing crowd engaged, even mesmerized, for the duration of their set which included material that spanned their entire back catalogue.

After a relatively short wait, the house light dimmed and the arena erupted into a cacophony of cheers, screams and applause as the four members of Alice In Chains made their way on stage as Gyorgi Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata II (aka the definitive score from Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut) played over the PA. This was it, the moment this reviewer and many other screaming fans had been waiting thirty plus years to witness…

Without pause they launched straight into a high-octane rendition of ‘Bleed The Freak’ from their debut album Facelift, thus commencing a set that was nothing short of blistering from beginning to end. It appeared that the boys had arrived to make up for lost time, a feat that they masterfully achieved, and then some. Frontman William DuVall, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney had the crowd wrapped around their proverbial little fingers from the get go. The foursome churned out tracks that spanned the band’s career, including tracks from each of their six albums, as well as their two EPs Sap and Jar of Flies (namely ‘Got Me Wrong’ and the exquisite ‘Nutshell’ – including a poignant moment with DuVall simply yet lovingly stating that there would always be six members of Alice In Chains, acknowledging the legacies of the dearly departed Layne Staley and Mike Starr).

It was touching to note that the band appeared to be sincerely apologetic for the delay in making it to NZ to play a show, with Kinney taking front and centre stage to admit that it was his unfortunate encounter with a platypus in Australia that led to the band having to cancel their Auckland show in the early 1990s. Yet in the spirit of making amends for their tardiness, they announced that some guests would be joining them onstage as a second drum kit was wheeled out and placed next to Kinney’s. Teasing the audience by proclaiming said ‘special guests’ would be Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga (which was met with a loud round of boos), it was quickly revealed that the guests were in fact Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who just happen to be in town to play couple of shows of their own. The result of this joining of two of the most influential groups of the 1990s was a ferocious performance of ‘Them Bones’ and ‘Damn that River’ that almost blew the roof off the arena and left the crowd in an absolute frenzy.

After a brief break the band returned for an encore, which culminated in two of the band’s most popular and revered tracks, ‘Would?’ and ‘Rooster’. After the obligatory band ‘selfie’ with the crowd, and a promise from Cantrell that it wouldn’t take them another 32 years to return, it was over.

There is no doubt that this will go down as one of the most memorable shows of 2019. Here’s hoping Alice In Chains return much, much sooner rather than later.

Editors note: Here is a small selection of cellphone images as shot by Ambient Light writer Sarah Kidd. It must be noted that both Sarah and Bridget were at this concert as regular fans who paid full price for their tickets and as such were not in attendance as official media – so we felt fit to include the images posted below as part of their overall experience.

Were you there at Trusts Arena for this triumphant grunge metal gig? Or have you seen Alice In Chains perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Alice In Chains Setlist:

Jakob Setlist:

1. Pneumonic
2. Blind Them With Science
3. Magna Carta
4. Malachite
5. Oran Mor
6. Ageena
7. Resolve

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